Last night Don Lemon kicked off his show by holding a poster with the N-word emblazoned on it. He first showed the confederate battle flag then the sign. He was trying to make a point in a provocative way and he achieved his goal but at what cost. Did he go too far to prove his point? Should his bosses at CNN have approved this display? Share your thoughts.

This week Starbucks wanted to initiate a conversation on race. Social media immediately mocked the effort. some joked and said all they want from Starbucks is coffee, and they wanted it quickly. They did not have time for a conversation. Some belittled the baristas and doubted if they could facilitate such a discussion. Others took the racial route and said black people would want to hit the barista if they said the wrong thing. Well, when you look at this week you have to see somebody needs to start the conversation. The DOJ report refuted the “hands up Don’t Shoot” narrative. A black man was found lynched and we saw a UVA honor student was brutally thrown to the ground as he was arrested. The student sustained a head injury that required 10 stitches. That case is still unfolding but we also heard the student call the policeman a “racist”. Why did he call him that? Did the cop say something to the student or was the policeman’s whiteness enough to justify the name? Yes, we do need a conversation. Maybe Starbucks is not the venue but we need to reserve a space somewhere.

Recently we have seen journalist and aid workers savagely killed in dangerous countries. In some cases the US has attempted to rescue the individuals, but is the US government responsible for protecting people who put themselves in harm’s way? Share your thoughts,

I saw this hashtag on Twitter and thought why would this be trending? I knew that “America’s Mayor” Giuilani had made the statement that the president did not love this country. When the president ran for office in 2008 he was called a terrorist, a secret Muslim and his citizenship was even questioned. The right has this assault of branding the president as “other”. No other president has been painted with brush. Sure all presidents are criticized, but their love of country is not questioned. We assume that if you yearn to lead this country than it is a safe bet that you love the country. How should the president show his love. Should he use the term “Muslim extremists”, will that show his All American credentials? Maybe if he stopped saying things like “if I had a son he would look like Trayvon”. Maybe if he stopped trying to engage young people by taking a selfie in the Oval Office he might not be viewed as “ghetto.” Yes all of these things added up might make him suspect…He might be the leader of the country who does love this country and it sad to see that we need a hashtag to prove it.

James Robertson is a Detroit, Michigan native and he is committed to his job. So committed that he walks 21 miles a day. He has not missed a day of work in 12 years. His story was profiled in the Detroit Free Press. One of the readers set up a go fund me page to solicit money so Robertson can buy a car. As of today over $100,000 has been donated. This is great for Robertson, but he represents a bigger problem. There are thousands of Robertsons working every day for minimum wage or a little more than minimum wage. They are not waiting for government handouts they are trying to make it. They are playing a rigged game in which the House has all the good cards. It is so interesting to see the media cover this story. Every so often the media reluctantly acknowledges the existence of the working poor. Detroit is a dying city and one of the reasons Robertson has to walk so far is the lack of a viable transit system. Former Mayor Bing contemplated consolidating the city in such a way that they would only have to provide electricity to 1/2 the city. Robertson’s plight is bigger than his 21 mile walk. He is the poster child for the working poor. They exist. They have pride and they work hard. They won’t all be profiled by the press and receive media spotlight, but they will survive.

As we remember Dr. King today we are humbled by his contribution, but we can not be intimidated by it. King has been immortalized in the DC mall and it hard to reconcile that he was just a man. He was human not super-human, a man not a superman, a child of God, not a God. When we see him as a man, and recognize his humanity, and his flaws then we can see our contribution might not be like, his but we are capable of doing something. We can do more. We have to enlarge our prayer from “us four and no more” to what can I do in my world? Share your thoughts.

If you are a registered voter and you did not take advantage of early voting you need to vote today. Voting gives each of us the opportunity to choose who will represent us. This year the GOP candidates are viewed as the favorites and while that might turn out to be true your vote does count. I encourage you to vote today because it is an important right that so many people died for you to have.